Once A Cop
by Candaru
Summary: EAM True Ending AU! Exactly what it says on the tin. The EAM family awakens to find that Percy is nowhere to be found... at least, not the way they left her. (Platonic/familial vibes only, no shipping, rated T for safety. EAM True Ending AU. Context on tumblr!)


(**A/N at the end due to spoilers!)**

* * *

The general consensus, at first, was that Percy must've been sick.

This conclusion was immediately drawn when Giovanni, who snuck downstairs at 5:35 AM with a box of illegal fireworks and bags of popcorn on top so as not to draw Percy's suspicion, was greeted with a dark and empty kitchen rather than the blonde cop munching on a slice of plain toast while reading the newspaper.

Shortly after this discovery, a tired and very annoyed Sylvester had walked into the room to complain about his brother waking him up, only to find himself that there was nobody to complain to.

After a brief spat between the two boys, at around 6:00 AM, Molly had stumbled into the room, having been awoken by a nightmare and unable to fall back asleep to the sound of arguing. She would've undoubtedly gone back to bed after that, had the huge frame of Howie Honeyglow not come lumbering down the stairs at just that moment.

He scanned the kitchen briefly and inquired as to the whereabouts of Percy— who, as everybody knew, was _always_ the first person awake. The kids presented to him their theory that the police officer must've been sick (for nothing else could possibly keep her from her schedule), and with a hefty grunt, he acknowledged their theory as fact, and pulled out a box of waffles and jar of honey to start making his own breakfast.

At 7:00, a very grumpy Mera and a very energetic Indus headed downstairs together, the former immediately making a dive for the straight black coffee that Howie had already started to brew. Approximately half an hour later, another ex-convict of the household joined them, turning his silverware into gold for the heck of it as he scarfed down a slice of chocolate pie leftover from the night before.

By the time the sun was fully up, the entire downstairs was filled with adults drinking coffee and making jabs at each other to start the day. The absence of the most lawful family member certainly didn't help these early-morning arguments, but other than that, it seemed to be a perfectly ordinary day in the perpetually-busy household.

Until Molly did a head count.

"Sylvie?" she asked quietly, tugging on the pink-haired boy's sleeve.

"Mm?" Sylvester turned from his coffee mug that Molly pretended not to know was filled with hot chocolate. "You okay?"

"I think we're missing someone," Molly replied, a half-worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, Percy's sick, remember?" was the immediate reply.

"No, I mean… I think we're missing someone else."

"Mm! Darn right w'are," came a cheerful voice through a mouthful of pie. "Iffink Zora'f busy wif' somefin'."

"Oh!" Molly exclaimed, looking across the table to Ramsey. He was right; while the adjoined kitchen and living-room were full of adults, there was a distinct lack of angry cowboys amongst them.

"Well, I don't exactly see Zora being gone as a problem," Sylvester laughed, taking another sip from his mug. Molly had to hold back a giggle at his whipped-cream mustache that he didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah… It is odd, though," Giovanni noted, walking over to the conversation and skidding into an empty chair. "Zora likes getting a head-start on her little 'pranks.' She's usually one of the first people up besides Percy!"

"Who's sick," Sylvester added, as if this point hadn't been hammered in enough during the few hours he'd been awake.

However, his comment made Molly pause. "Wait a minute. Are we sure about that?" she asked, a hint of foreboding creeping into her voice.

"What el'f couldit be?" Ramsey asked, happily scarfing down the crust of his breakfast. It was fairly obvious he was enjoying the lack of cops scrutinizing his meal choices. He paused to take a swig of milk before speaking clearly. "Look, kid, she gets sick all the time. I should know. If it's bad enough that she's staying in bed rather than working through it, you oughta let her be."

"It's just," Molly said, a touch of concern on her face, "if both Zora _and_ Percy are gone—"

And that was when she noticed.

"Uh, Molly?" Sylvester asked, waving a hand in front of the girl's now-frozen face. "You forget something in your room, or…?"

Molly didn't reply. Rather, she just pointed straight to the bottom of the stairs, at the other end of the room. All heads within earshot of the conversation turned to see what had her so shell-shocked.

And then _everybody_ noticed.

Half-hidden behind the post that started the handrailing to the stairs, was a tiny freckled girl with swoops of delicate blonde hair curling inward and a shirt that was entirely too big for her. She flinched as everybody's eyes landed on her, and stared fearfully out at the roomful of people with big, blue eyes.

"_...Percy?"_ Molly whispered in disbelief.

And then the child bolted.

* * *

"H-Hey, wait!" Sylvester cried, standing up quickly and knocking over his chair. Several of the adults started to make a move towards the stairs, but Molly called out to stop them.

"No, hold on!" she cried. Everyone stopped and stared at her in disbelief.

"I-I don't think we should scare her," she quickly explained. "I mean, any more than we already have…"

There was another moment of silence, and then Mera spoke up, her voice tensely bitter and full of emotion.

"_Zora."_

The realization that slowly settled in hung over everyone's heads like a suffocatingly thick blanket. Faces turned, some to anger, and some to amusement, as everyone realized that this must've indeed been yet another of the missing cowgirl's infamous doings. And, given that she was nowhere to be found, was apparently a prank they'd just have to wait for her to undo.

"...Wow," Giovanni finally said, breaking the tension with his comically impressed voice. "She must've been _really_ dedicated to this one not to even stick around."

"That little brat—" Mera started.

"I'm gonna go check on Percy," Molly suddenly interrupted, worry now fully overtaking her features. "I might be able to calm her down."

"Good thinking," Sylvie replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're the person she trusts most; she might remember you. Or, at the very least, know to trust you."

Molly nodded and quickly ran up the stairs, the others watching her go with mixed expressions on their faces.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Molly waited patiently outside of Percy's bedroom, thinking the little girl had probably bolted back to wherever she'd first woken up. When she heard no reply, however, she slowly opened the door.

"Percy?" she called in a quiet, tentative voice. Still no reply. "It's me, Molly. Um…"

It was then that Molly noticed a tiny lump under the covers of the plain blue bed. Closing the door gently behind her, she walked over to it, still talking so she wouldn't alarm the girl by suddenly appearing at her side.

"I know you're probably really confused right now," she explained awkwardly, "and we kind of are, too? Um— 'we' meaning everyone you saw downstairs. But it's just me right now!"

When the lump still didn't move, Molly hesitated. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to disturb her right now… but then again, when would it be? She couldn't just leave her confused and alone in their bedroom until Zora decided to come back.

Slowly, she pulled back the covers, revealing a shaking Percy curled up into a ball with her hands on her ears and her eyes squeezed tight. It wasn't a pose of defiance; it was a posture of fear. Molly felt her heart drop a little in empathy for how overwhelming everything must have been.

"Um… I'm gonna guess this means you don't remember us," Molly guessed with a nervous half-smile.

At this, Percy opened one eye to violently shake her head.

"Yeah, I thought so," Molly sighed. She sat down on the edge of the bed. This was going to take a while to explain. She _could_ try lying, but there wouldn't be much point— and it'd probably take just as long to think up a good lie as it would to explain the situation. "So… Basically, to sum things up, you're actually well into your twenties, everyone downstairs is part of your adoptive family, and last night you got turned into a little kid by a mean cowgirl's Epithet, who ran off so she isn't here anymore."

Pause.

Okay, that probably wasn't the _best_ way to lead—

"Oh."

A tiny voice from the tiny child. Molly blinked. Wait, did she _actually_ just accept that so quickly?

"Um… Can I ask what's the last thing you remember?" Molly asked. Percy's tiny bushy eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

"...sleep?" she whispered quietly.

"I mean before that."

Percy stared down into her lap. It seemed exceedingly hard for her to form words— and within a matter of seconds, tears started filling her eyes.

"Whoa, wait, don't cry!" Molly said quickly, almost reaching out to hold the girl before she realized that might only make the problem worse. "You can think about it for a while. Do you want me to bring you up some breakfast?"

The little blonde looked up, lower lip trembling, and nodded. Her blue eyes glistened from her tears, and Molly felt like an arrow struck her heart. She never thought about what Percy was like as a child before— even _now_ it seemed hard to believe she'd ever been one— but she certainly wouldn't have thought her to be so… vulnerable.

"Okay, I-I'll get you something from downstairs," the older girl (_wow,_ that was weird) said quickly. "What do you want?"

Percy's voice caught again, and she started sniffling as tears rolled down her cheeks. Panic rose in Molly's chest, but she forced it down. Now that Percy wasn't able to be the adult, that responsibility fell on Molly's shoulders.

"Um… you don't by any chance like plain toast and water, do you?" she asked with a note of hesitation. Still crying ever so quietly, Percy nodded, curling her knees tighter against her chest.

"...Wow. Uh. Okay then." Molly was a bit surprised, as she'd always assumed Percy's strange diet was some sort of cop training regiment, but… "I'll be right back."

Awkwardly pulling the covers back around the girl's shoulders, Molly quickly got up off the bed and headed back outside, closing the door behind her just in case of the rare event that the child would still try to escape.

* * *

When Molly returned downstairs, things had settled slightly back to normal.

Slightly.

"So?" Ramsey was the first one out of his seat upon seeing Molly's return. "Give it to us straight, Doc."

Molly rolled her eyes as she got out a loaf of bread from the refrigerator and stuck a slice in the toaster. "She doesn't remember any of us."

"Wait, that's weird," Mera noted with a hint of annoyance. "Why wouldn't she remember us? Zora uses her power on herself all the time and _she's_ fine."

"I'm not sure, but I think it might have to do with how far back she sent Percy," Molly replied, biting her lip. "Zora normally only uses her power in _small_ increments. But this…"

"It ain't no excuse," Howie's gruff voice interrupted. He was over by the living-room table that scarcely ever got used, arm-wrestling Indus with apparently very little effort. "Woman shouldn't be usin' her Epithet if she ain't got the know-how to control it."

"UmmMMM…" Molly squeaked, her voice awkwardly high. "I'm pretty sure Zora knew what she was doing."

Howie stayed silent for a moment, then slammed down Indus' arm on the table with a fit of rage.

"Well, _I_, for one," Giovanni spoke up, "am planning to _use_ this opportunity the best it can be used! Bear Trap, after you calm down the little one, you're coming with me. We have crime things to do."

"Wait, what?!" Molly exclaimed, nearly dropping her half-full glass of water. "I have homework!"

"So do it _later,"_ Giovanni protested. "Like a bad guy!"

Sylvester looked up over the top of his newspaper, which undoubtedly hid the comics page inside. "Technically," he corrected, "wouldn't it be more of a 'bad guy' thing to cheat?"

Giovanni's grin spread wide. "Ohhhh, cheating on homework! Now _that's_ what I'm talking about! You know, you really oughta re-think joining the Banzai Blasters, Doctor Yo-yo. I mean, you've already got the cool minion nickname!"

"_Please_ stop calling me that," Sylvie groaned.

From the living room, Mera snickered. "Wait, _'Doctor Yo-yo?'"_

Molly heaved a heavy sigh as her toast popped up just in time to give her an escape route. This was how Saturday mornings always went when everybody was home— or, well, almost everybody. But with the changes currently in motion...

Slipping behind the brewing argument and tip-toeing up the stairs with the little girl's "breakfast," Molly began to devise a plan.

* * *

Percy seemed to calm down noticeably after having the breakfast she was accustomed to.

"...then there's Giovanni," Molly said, "the, uh, pink-haired one."

"Sylvie?" Percy asked, cocking her head.

"No, the other pink haired one. The tall one who was wearing racecar pajamas. And… probably still is."

"Ohh." Percy looked down at her now-empty water glass.

"Yeah, he was trying to convince me to come out with him and do 'crime things' later…"

"WHAT?!"

Little Percy dropped her glass on the floor, stumbling to her feet. Well, that answered _that_ question.

"Yeah, I figured you might not like that," Molly said with a smile. "Actually, you're usually the one _stopping_ everyone from doing 'crime things.'"

Molly had never seen such a young child look so distressed.

"But— then— I have to stop them!" she cried, whisps of blond hair getting caught in her eyes. It looked like the type of hair that would grow if left alone; apparently, the cop's decision to keep it short was a deliberate one.

"I agree," Molly said, "but you can't exactly just march down there and tell them off like an angry mom anymore."

"So— so what should I do?" Percy asked, wrinkles of worry on her forehead. Molly grinned— a familiar sort of devious grin that was usually reserved for when she was hanging out with Giovanni.

"I have an idea for that."

* * *

By the time Molly came back down for the second time, now with the child-ified Percy clinging to her side, things had already spiraled out of control.

"Um, Sylvie?" Molly asked, worriedly putting one hand over little Percy's ears to block out all the noise, "Why is there screaming in the backyard?"

The psychologist didn't look up from his newspaper, sipping his hot chocolate in a bored manner before responding.

"Oh, Giovanni tried to use those illegal fireworks he was sneaking out earlier. Remember how I said there was no way he'd be able to use them without blowing something up?"

He waved his hand in a motion circular motion and immediately afterward, a faint _boom_ was heard from outside.

"Yeah."

Molly winced. "Oh, geez… Boss…"

"Illegal?!"

Percy's tiny, distressed voice caught the attention of Sylvester more than the explosions outside, and he put down his paper to look at the tiny girl. He blinked several times, then breathed on his glasses and rubbed them against his coat, as if the child before him could've been no more than a speck of dust on the lenses.

"Wow," he said after a minute. "You're really adorable."

Percy didn't respond to the compliment, instead looking back up at Molly in distress. "He said something about somebody being illegal?!"

"Yep, that's Boss," Molly sighed, smoothing her hands over the girl's soft hair. "Which is why I need your help stopping him."

"You might want to stop Uncle Sam over there, first," Sylvie advised, motioning with his mug towards Ramsey, who had moved to the counter and was now either writing or drawing something on a piece of paper.

"Oh, no," Molly mumbled, although loud enough that Ramsey could hear her. "Ramsey, what'd you do…?"

Ramsey grinned and spun around on his stool, his gold tooth glinting in the kitchen light along with his piercings. "I didn't do nothin' _yet,_ kid! Say, can I see little Perce now?"

Percy shuffled to hide behind Molly's back, clearly afraid of the strange man, but Molly nudged her forward to indicate that it was all right. "Sure. She's just come down to do her job."

"Aw, what, you mean stop all the _rest_ of us from havin' fun?" Ramsey teased. He scampered off his seat and knelt down to get closer to Percy's eye level. _"Man, _you were cute as a kid. What happened, huh?"

He ruffled her hair to show that his jabs were all in good affection, but poor Percy still seemed petrified in place. Molly stepped up to her side and distracted him by asking, "So what was Sylvester talking about when he said we should 'stop you first?'"

"Oh, Sylv's just being a downer," he said. "I got some plans to make a little moolah later, yeah? Go have some fun at some high-end retail store, play around with the corporate greed… That sorta stuff."

"So… shopping with counterfeit money," Molly translated, and Ramsey broke out into an even wider grin.

"Bingo!"

"But that's illegal!" little Percy exclaimed, breaking out of her fear with a tiny gasp. Ramsey put a hand on her shoulder in response, looking her in the eye with his golden one.

"Kid, let me tell ya something before you get older and forget. The world isn't always black 'n white, you hear? Sometimes, to take down a bad guy, you have to do bad things. It's like, whaddya call it… vigilante-type stuff! I ain't even _really_ doing anything wrong. If you think about it, I'M the good guy here!"

His speech was delivered in that fun, jaunty sort of tone the kids had come to expect from Weird Uncle Ramsey.

But Percy's face was not at all impressed.

"If you do bad guy things to the bad guys," she said, with the absolute conviction of a six-year-old, "that just makes you a bad guy, too."

There was a long pause, and Ramsey slowly raised his eyebrows up at Molly. "So she's _always_ been like this, huh?"

Molly bit back a smirk. Ramsey sighed and shrugged before giving an apologetic smile to Percy. "Well, I hate to break it to ya, kid, but you can't stop me."

Molly gave Percy the subtlest tap on the back to let her know it was time.

"Yes, I can," Percy replied, her voice deadpan.

Ramsey cocked a confused smile. Molly noticed that nearly everyone still inside the house had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the scene unfold, which seemed to make Ramsey falter somewhat. Good. She wanted everyone to see what was coming next.

"And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Using her own tiny hands, Percy removed Ramsey's from her shoulder and kissed it on the palm.

There was a solid moment of silence, before the sound of Ramsey's hushed swearing was drowned in the noise of Mera shattering yet another plate in the sink.

"******.** That was _adorable_."

Molly burst out into proud giggles, and Percy grinned at the noise, which she evidently took as praise for a job well done.

Ramsey glared up at Molly, although the impact of the glare was severely negated by the blush on his rat-like face. "Get this cop kid outta my sight."

"If you say so," Molly said back. As she heard Mera's grumbling, she quickly put her arm on Percy's shoulder again, motioning to follow her. "Come on; we'd better go out back and see if we can't stop Boss from setting fire to the whole yard."

Everyone with the exception of Mera (who was busy carefully dropping ceramic shards into the trashcan under the sink) watched as Molly led the little Percy outside, where yet another round of chaos awaited them. Because even when someone was only a child due to a time-altering cowboy, the rules still applied:

When a child hands you a toy telephone, you pick it up.

And when a child tells you not to commit a felony, you put away your to-do list for the rest of the day.

* * *

(A/N: For my part of an art/writing trade with rose-tries-her-best on tumblr! She requested a full fic of de-aged Percy, from an ongoing headcanon list about what would happen if Zora [in the EAM True Ending AU] de-aged various family members and left the others to deal with the chaos. Specifically, she requested more of "everyone drops what they're doing to comfort kid!Percy," which I feel like I didn't fully accomplish here, so I may add more chapters focused on other characters to compensate. The reason this is a little off-prompt is because I may or may not have already had some of the outline planned before I got the request for the trade ;))

**(Writing/art trades are now closed, as I'll soon be very busy and I still have one fic to complete! I may open up trades again in a while, but for now, thanks so much to everyone who's drawn me art!)**


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